Adapter plate for fiber optic module

ABSTRACT

An adapter plate for use with a telecommunications module that is configured to be slidably inserted into a first type of telecommunications chassis comprises a body configured to be mounted to the telecommunications module. The body of the adapter plate includes structure for mounting the telecommunications module to a second type of telecommunications chassis that is different than the first type of telecommunications chassis, wherein the telecommunications module is not configured to be mounted to the second type of telecommunications chassis without the adapter plate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/470,222, filed Mar. 31, 2011, which applicationis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to fiber optictelecommunications equipment. More specifically, the present disclosurerelates to an adapter plate for use with a fiber optic module, whereinthe fiber optic module is normally configured to be mounted to a firstpiece of telecommunications equipment without the adapter plate andwherein the adapter plate allows the fiber optic module to be mounted toa different second piece of telecommunications equipment.

BACKGROUND

In fiber optic telecommunications systems, it is common for opticalfibers of transmission cables to be split into multiple strands, eitherby optical splitting of a signal carried by a single stranded cable orby fanning out the individual fibers of a multi-strand cable. Further,when such systems are installed, it is known to provide excess capacityin the installations to support future growth and utilization of thefibers. Often in these installations, modules including splitters orfanouts are used to provide the connection between transmission fibersand customer fibers. To reduce the cost and complexity of the initialinstallation and still provide options for future expansion, a modulemounting chassis capable of mounting multiple modules may be used insuch an installation.

The types of chassis for mounting modules may vary depending upon theapplication, the capacity, and the location thereof. The modules thatinclude the fiber optic equipment are normally specifically designed fora given chassis. What is needed is a system that allows a module that isconfigured for a first type of chassis to be able to be installed in asecond type of chassis without having to modify the external andinternal features of the module.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to an adapter plate for use with a fiberoptic module, wherein the fiber optic module is normally configured tobe mounted to a first piece of telecommunications equipment without theadapter plate and wherein the adapter plate allows the fiber opticmodule to be mounted to a second piece of telecommunications equipmenthaving a different configuration than the first piece oftelecommunications equipment.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the adapter plateslidably and removably mounts on the exterior of the fiber optic modulefor converting the configuration of the module for installation in atype of telecommunications equipment that is different than the type oftelecommunications equipment that the module was configured for withoutthe adapter plate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an adapter platefor use with a telecommunications module that is configured to beslidably inserted into a first type of telecommunications chassiscomprises a body configured to be mounted to the telecommunicationsmodule. The body of the adapter plate includes structure for mountingthe telecommunications module to a second type of telecommunicationschassis that is different than the first type of telecommunicationschassis, wherein the telecommunications module is not configured to bemounted to the second type of telecommunications chassis without theadapter plate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the adapter plateis for use with a telecommunications module that includes a flexiblelatch for interlocking with a first type of telecommunications chassis.The adapter plate comprises a body configured to be mounted to thetelecommunications module and interlocked with the telecommunicationsmodule using the flexible latch of the telecommunications module,wherein the body of the adapter plate includes a second latch forinterlocking with a second type of telecommunications chassis that isdifferent than the first type of telecommunications chassis, wherein theflexible latch of the telecommunications module is not configured forinterlocking with the second type of telecommunications chassis.

According to another aspect, a method of mounting a telecommunicationsmodule to a second type of telecommunications chassis is disclosed,wherein the telecommunications module is normally configured formounting to a first telecommunications chassis with a flexible latch andthe second telecommunications chassis is different than the firsttelecommunications chassis such that the flexible latch is notconfigured for mounting to the second telecommunications chassis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the description, illustrate several aspects of the inventivefeatures and together with the detailed description, serve to explainthe principles of the disclosure. A brief description of the drawings isas follows:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a prior art fiber terminationblock that is configured to be mounted in a high-density fiberdistribution frame, shown with a fiber optic module exploded off amodule chassis of the fiber termination block;

FIG. 2 illustrates a closer view of the module chassis of the fibertermination block of FIG. 1, the module chassis shown with one fiberoptic module mounted therein;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of one of the prior art fiber opticmodules shown installed in the fiber termination block of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is left side view of the fiber optic module of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the fiber optic module of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is right side view of the fiber optic module of FIG. 3, shownwithout the cover thereof exposing the interior features of the fiberoptic module;

FIG. 7 illustrates the fiber optic module of FIG. 3 in combination witha prior art fiber optic adapter module configured to hold a plurality offiber optic adapters, the fiber optic adapter module also configured forinstallation in a piece of telecommunications equipment such as thefiber termination block as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 illustrates the fiber optic module of FIGS. 1-7 installed in asecond type of a module chassis with the use of an adapter plate havingfeatures that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates the fiber optic module of FIGS. 1-7 partiallyinstalled in the adapter plate shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 illustrates the fiber optic module of FIG. 9 fully installed inthe adapter plate of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a right side view of the fiber optic module fully installedin the adapter plate of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is front view of the fiber optic module fully installed in theadapter plate of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of the adapter plate of FIG. 10shown in isolation, the adapter plate having features that are examplesof inventive aspects in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a right side view of the adapter plate of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a front view of the adapter plate of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a top view of the adapter plate of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the adapter plate of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-section taken along line 18-18 of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary aspects of the presentinvention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art fiber termination block 10 that isconfigured to be mounted in a high-density fiber distribution frame. Thefiber termination block 10 includes a front area 12 which defines aplurality of fiber optic terminations, such as adapters 14 which connectaxially aligned fiber optic connectors. A rear area 16 of block 10defines a fiber optic module chassis area 18 and a slack storage area20. As will be discussed in further detail below, the fiber opticmodules 22 to be used in the block 10 can include various types of fiberoptic equipment, such as for increasing capacity. The exampleembodiments of the fiber optic modules that will be described in thepresent application are splitter modules 22 that are configured to splitan input signal into a plurality of the same output signals.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the fiber termination block 10 includes aplurality of covers to selectively protect internal components.Termination access panels 24 protect front area and the fiber opticterminations contained therein. A rear access cover (not shown) protectsmodule chassis 18 and slack storage areas 20. Latches 26 allow forselective pivoting of panels 24 or removal of cover. The fibertermination block 10 and the features thereof are described in furtherdetail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,590,328, the entire disclosure of which isherein incorporated by reference.

In FIG. 1, the fiber termination block 10 is shown as including frontradius limiters 28 and divider walls 30. Divider walls 30 receiveslidable adapter modules 32. Divider walls 30 and adapter modules 32 arepreferably constructed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,051, theentire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.Additional sliding adapter arrangements are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,497,444, 5,717,810, and 7,416,349, the entire disclosures of which areherein incorporated by reference. Divider walls 30 define longitudinalguides 34 for receiving longitudinal guides 36 of the sliding adaptermodules 32. Guides 34 are shown in the form of channels 38 and guides 36are shown in the form of rails 40. Each adapter module 32 includes aplurality of adapters 14 for receiving and connecting two fiber opticconnectors. SC type connectors and mating adapters are shown. Dividerwalls 30 define a left side and right side for left and right adaptermodules 32 to slide in opposite directions. Spaces or slots 42 betweendivider walls 30 each receive one of the adapter modules 32 during use.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-2, the chassis 18 positioned in the rear area16 of the fiber termination block 10 is configured for holding one ormore fiber optic modules 22. Signals output from the modules 22 aredirected to the adapter modules 32 positioned on the front area 12 ofthe fiber termination block 10. As noted above, the fiber optic modules22 housed in the chassis 18 may be configured to include different typesof fiber optic equipment such as splitters, fan-outs,multiplexers/demultiplexers, combiners, filters, etc. The example shownand described in the present application and that is configured for thehigh-density fiber termination block 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a fiber opticsplitter module 22. Each fiber optic splitter module 22 includes atleast one input 44 and a plurality of outputs 46. The inputs 44 and theoutputs 46 are provided by connectorized cables 45, 51, respectively asseen in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7.

Now referring to FIGS. 3-7, one of the modules 22 mounted within thechassis 18 of the fiber termination block 10 is shown in closer detail.It should be noted that the module 22 shown in the Figures of thepresent application can be configured to have a front input location ora rear input location. The front input location may include one or moreinputs 44 provided by one or more cables. The module 22 is shown as asingle input module in FIGS. 2 and 7 and is shown as a dual-input modulein FIGS. 1 and 3-6. As will be described in further detail below, thecover 48 of the module 22 allows the module 22 to be converted between asingle or a dual input module. The splitters 50 provided in the modules22 can be any configuration desired by the customer, including forexample 1×32, 1×16, or dual 1×16 splitters. If splitter module 22 onlyhas one input 44, then only one input cable is provided. If dual inputs44 are desired, then two input cables are used as shown in FIGS. 1 and3-6.

It will be noted that the splitter module 22 shown and described hereinis simply one example of a fiber optic module that is used to describethe inventive principles of the present disclosure and that theinventive aspects may be applicable to other types of modules. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,885,505, the entire disclosure of which isherein incorporated by reference, describes different versions of themodule shown in the present application, some having front inputs, somehaving rear inputs, some including different fiber optic equipmenttherein such as an optical wavelength divisionmultiplexer/demultiplexer.

Still referring to FIGS. 3-7, each splitter module 22 includes flanges52, 54 formed by the cover 48 of the module which are received inmounting channels/slots 56 defined by mounting locations 15 in chassis18. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, the module chassis 18defines four mounting channels/slots 56 for receiving four splittermodules 22 from an open front end 13. When mounting the splitter modules22 to the module chassis 18, each splitter module 22 is received withinone of the mounting slots 56 within splitter module chassis 18.

As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the module chassis 18 may be mounted at a slightangle relative to a rear area 16 of the block 10, and a slight anglerelative to a side 11 of the block 10. The open end 13 may be bothtipped to the open side 11 and tipped down. Such a positioning mayimprove cable management by not excessively bending the cables to andfrom each splitter module 22. The splitter modules 22 include a latch 58for selective latching to module chassis 18. Details of how the module22 latches to a mounting location 15 within the chassis 18 are describedin further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,885,505, the entire disclosure ofwhich has been incorporated herein by reference.

Referring to FIGS. 3-7, the fiber optic splitter module 22 includes asplitter module housing 60. Splitter module housing 60 includes a mainhousing portion 62 and the removable cover 48. Main housing portion 62includes a first transverse sidewall 64 extending between a top wall 66,a bottom wall 68, a rear wall 70, and a front wall 72. Removable cover48 defines a second transverse wall 74 of splitter module housing 60 andcloses off an open side 76 of module main housing 62.

Cover 48 is mounted to main housing portion 62 by fasteners 78 throughfastener mounts 80 defined on main housing portion 62. As noted above,the cover 48 extends beyond first transverse sidewall 64 to form a topmounting flange 52 and a bottom mounting flange 54 of splitter module22. The bottom flange 54 of splitter module housing 60 and thecorresponding mounting slot 56 on chassis 18 may be smaller in size thantop flange 52 and the corresponding top slot 56 on chassis 18. Bottomslot 56 may be sized so that, while bottom flange 54 may be receivedwithin slot 56, the larger top flange 52 will not fit. This ensures thatmodules 22 are positioned within the chassis 18 in a particular desiredorientation.

The rear wall 70 of main housing portion 62 includes a curved portion 82configured to provide bend radius protection to cables within interior.Rear wall 70 of main housing 62 also includes an inset portion 84. In aversion of the splitter module 22 wherein the inputs 44 are located inthe rear, a pair of fiber optic connectors 86 may be positioned at insetportion 84 and protrude rearwardly from rear wall 70 for mating withfiber optic adapters for an input signal. In the version shown in FIGS.3-7, the rear input locations 44 are plugged with inserts 88 and onlythe front input locations 44 are used. It should noted that in theversion of the splitter module 22 shown in FIGS. 8-12 that is used todescribe the inventive features of the adapter plate 90 of the presentapplication, the rear wall 70 of the module 22 is shown populated withfiber optic connectors 86 even though the module 22 is being used as afront input module.

Still referring to FIGS. 3-7, the front wall 72 of module main housing62 may be angled with regard to front opening 13 of chassis 18, whichmay aid in the direction of cables exiting module 22 toward a desiredlocation. Each module 22 includes two cable exits/outputs 46 extendingfrom front wall 72 of module main housing 62. As shown in FIG. 3, thecable exits 46 are slidably mounted to main housing 62 of module 22 andcaptured by cover 48 of module 22 when cover 48 is mounted to mainhousing 62. Cable exits 46 define a protruding rear lip 92 that isslidably inserted into slots 94 defined around front apertures 96 foraccommodating cable exits 46. Cover 48 also includes slits 98 thatreceive rear lips 92 of the cable exits 46 to capture cable exits 46.Cable exits 46 permit telecommunications cables within module 22 to bedirected outside of module 22. Cable exits 46 are normally sized thinenough to fit within the profile of the fiber optic splitter module 22to preserve the density of the telecommunications assembly. As notedpreviously, the cables exiting the modules 22 that carry the splitsignals may include connectorized ends that are directed to adaptermodules 32, such as shown in FIG. 7 and such as shown in the terminationblock 10 of FIG. 1. Although shown and described as being lead tosliding adapter modules 32 in the termination block 10, in otherembodiments of high-density fiber distribution frames that includesimilar chassis, the terminated output ends can be lead to parkingstructures for storage for future connectivity, as described in furtherdetail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,827, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

As noted above, the main housing 62 includes an integrally formedflexible latch 58 (i.e., cantilever arm) that is adapted to engage aportion of chassis 18 to hold module 22 within front opening 13 ofchassis 18. Flexible latch 58 also deflects to permit withdrawal ofmodule 22 from chassis 18. The latch 58 of module 22 includes a fingergrip tab 100, a front latching tab 102 and a rear latching tab 104.Front latching tab 102 and rear latching tab 104 define a recess 106thereinbetween. Rear latching tab 104 includes a ramped face 108 thatcauses latch 58 to elastically deflect down when module 22 is beinginserted into chassis 18. Rear latching tab 104 also includes a squareface 110 that opposes a square face 112 of front latching tab 102.

A front lip 114 defined by the mounting location 15 of chassis 18 iscaptured in recess 106 between the two latching tabs 102, 104 to holdmodule 22 in place within chassis 18. During insertion, as front lip 114of chassis 18 clears ramped rear tab 104 and is captured in recess 106between the two latching tabs 102, 104, latch 58 flexes back upwardly.

The removal of module 22 from chassis 18 is performed by pressing latch58 downwardly to clear the square face 110 of rear tab 104 from lip 114and sliding module 22 away from chassis 18. Module 22 includes a fixedgrip tab 116 opposing and adjacent to flexible latch 58 to aid removalof module 22 from chassis 18. Fixed grip tab 116 is formed as a part offront wall 72 of module 22. Fixed grip tab 116 is positioned on module22 opposite latch 58 so that a user may apply opposing force on latch 58and fixed grip tab 116 to securely grasp module 22 and remove it fromchassis 18. Fixed grip tab 116 is positioned on module 22 close enoughto latch 58 so that a user may be able to apply the force with twoadjacent fingers of the hand.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of fiber optic splitter module 22illustrating the internal components of module 22. In the embodiment ofthe module shown, there are two input locations 44 for accommodating twoterminated input cables 45. The front wall 72 of the module housing 60defines two recesses 118 that are sized to accommodate the terminatedcables 45. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 48 includes two tabs 120 thatare normally used to cover the recesses 118 located on the front wall 72of the module housing 60. When the module 22 is used as a front-inputmodule, the tabs 120 are cut to appropriate length to accommodate thecables 45 and capture the terminations within the recesses 118. In theembodiment of the module 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-6, the front inputcables 45 are arranged in a side by side configuration along a directionextending from the top wall 66 of the module 22 toward the bottom wall68 of the module 22.

It should be noted that modules 22 may include front input locations 44that are configured to receive input cables 45 in a stacked arrangementalong a direction extending from the first sidewall 64 of the moduletoward the second sidewall 74 defined by the cover 48 of the module 22,examples of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,885,505, the entiredisclosure of which has been incorporated herein by reference.

The optical component 50 (e.g., the splitter) is held against theinterior of bottom wall 68 by a clamp 122 (i.e., bracket). Clamp 122 ismounted to a clamp mount defined on splitter module main housing 62 withfasteners (not shown). In the embodiment of the housing 60 shown inFIGS. 3 and 6, the clamp mount includes two pairs of mounting holes 124.Either the upper set of holes 124 a or the lower set of holes 124 b areutilized depending upon the size of the clamp 122 that will be used tohold optical component 50 against bottom wall 68. It should be notedthat different optical components 50 may have different thicknesses andmay require the use of different sized clamps 122 for holding theoptical components 50 in place. In certain embodiments, two opticalcomponents 50 that are stacked on top of another may be used, in whichcase, a smaller clamp 122 would be used to hold the two opticalcomponents 50 in place.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, the splitter module main housing 62 alsoincludes integrally formed crimp holders 126 (e.g., slots) adjacentfront wall 72 of housing 60 underneath radius limiter 128. Crimpelements 130 crimped to the ends of cables 47 that are split by splitter50 are slidably received into crimp holders 126 as shown in FIG. 3.Crimp elements 130 define square flanges 132 between which is defined arecessed portion 134. The crimp holders 126 include complementarystructure to the crimp elements 130 such that once the crimp elements130 are slidably inserted into the crimp holders 126, the crimp elements130 are prevented from moving in a longitudinal direction due to theflanges 132. Once slidably inserted, crimp elements 130 are held inplace by cover 48 that is mounted to splitter module main housing 62.Other complementary shapes between the crimp elements 130 and the crimpholding slots 126 are also possible to provide a slidable fit and toprevent axial movement of the crimp elements 130 once inserted thereinthe crimp holders 126.

In FIGS. 3 and 6, the module 22 is shown without the cover 48 toillustrate the routing of fiber optic cables within module 22 when themodule 22 is used as a front-input module. According to a samplerouting, a first input cable 45 extends from the front input location 44around a radius limiter 128 toward the rear wall 70 of the module 22. Atthe rear wall 70 of the module 22, the first cable 45 is looped around aradius limiter in the form of a spool 138. From the spool 138, the firstcable 45 extends toward the front wall 72 of the module 22 and aroundthe radius limiter 128 downwardly toward the optical component 50,mounted within module housing 60.

Optical component 50 within the module, as previously discussed, may bea splitter or another type of optical component. In the embodimentshown, optical component 50 is a fiber optic splitter that splits thesignal of a single strand 45 to a plurality of secondary signals 47.First input cable 45 is received into the optical component 50 and thesignal is split into a plurality of signals carried by a plurality ofcables 47 that are bundled into a second cable 49. Second cable 49extends from optical component 50 toward the rear wall 70 of the module22 and is looped again all the way around spool 138 before headingtoward crimp holders 126. A fiber retainer 140 may be used, as shown inFIG. 3, to keep the fiber optic cable 49 around the spool 138.

The bundled second cable 49 is separated into individual cables 47 as itleaves the spool 138. The individual cables 47 are crimped to outputcables 51 at the crimp holders 126 and the output cables 51 exit themodule 22 through module exits 46.

It should be noted that the routing of the fiber optic cables withinmodule 22 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 is only one example and other waysof routing the cables within the module 22 are possible.

As noted above, the fiber optic module 22 shown in FIGS. 1-7 isspecifically configured to fit into chassis 18 that includes opposingslots 56 at the mounting locations 15 and that includes a lip 114adjacent the front opening 13 thereof for interlocking with the latch 58of the module 22. FIGS. 8-18 illustrate an adapter plate 90 that isconfigured to allow the fiber optic module 22 to be mounted to a chassis142 that is different than the chassis 18 shown in FIG. 1. The adapterplate 90 is configured to be slidably and removably mounted on theexterior of the fiber optic module 22. The adapter plate 90 converts theconfiguration of the module 22 for installation in a type oftelecommunications equipment that is different than the type oftelecommunications equipment that the module 22 was initially designedfor without the adapter plate 90 (e.g., the chassis 18 of the fibertermination block 10 shown in FIG. 1 that includes opposing slots 56 atthe mounting locations 15 and a front lip 114 configured to engage thelatch 58 of the module 22).

Now referring to FIG. 8, the second chassis 142 that includes opposingmounting slots 144 is shown populated with a number of the splittermodules 22 discussed above. However, the chassis 142, unlike the chassis18 of the termination block 10 of FIGS. 1-2, does not include front lips114 that are configured to interlock with the integral latches 58 of thefiber optic modules 22 and the spacing between the mounting slots 144 isdifferent than that of the type of chassis 18 shown in FIGS. 1-2. Thespacing between the opposing slots 144 of a given mounting location 145are different and the spacing between adjacent slots 144 of adjacentmounting locations 145 are different. Also, each mounting location 145of the chassis defines an opening 146 that is configured to accept aswell-latch type of an interlock structure. As will be discussed infurther detail, with the use of an adapter plate 90 having features thatare examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the presentdisclosure, the modules 22, which are not normally designed for the typeof chassis 142 shown in FIG. 8, can nevertheless be mounted within thechassis 142 shown in FIG. 8. A chassis similar to the second chassis 142is shown and described in greater detail (see FIG. 66) in U.S. Pat. No.6,760,531, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. The second chassis 142 might be used in a fibertelecommunications frame that is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No.6,760,531 that might be configured for splicing, terminating, andmanaging/storing fiber optic cables within the frame.

The adapter plate 90 that allows the modules 22 to be converted betweena module that is designed to be mounted to a first type of chassis(e.g., the chassis 18 of FIGS. 1-2) and a module that can be mountedinto a second different type of a chassis (e.g., the chassis 142 of FIG.8 similar to the chassis shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,531) is shown indetail in FIGS. 9-18. In FIGS. 9-12, the adapter plate 90 is shown incombination with the splitter module 22, wherein the installation of themodule 22 into the adapter plate 90 is illustrated. In FIGS. 13-18, theadapter plate 90 is shown in isolation.

Referring to FIGS. 8-18, the adapter plate 90 includes a body 149defining a top wall 150, a bottom wall 152, a rear wall 154, and an openfront end 156 for receiving the fiber optic module 22. The adapter platebody 149 defines a first transverse wall 158. The adapter plate body 149defines a second transverse side 160 that is generally open except for aretainer 162 that extends from the rear wall 154 toward the front end156 of the adapter plate body 149. The adapter plate 90 is configured toslidably receive a module such as the module 22 described above from theopen front end 156, wherein the retainer 162 at least partially helpsretain the rear side of the module 22 against the adapter plate 90 (seeFIGS. 10-11). The first transverse wall 158 defines a plurality of bumps164 for providing a snug fit for the module 22 between the firsttransverse wall 158 and the retainer 162 of the plate 90. The firsttransverse wall 158 and the retainer 162 give the module 22 a thickerprofile as defined between the two sides 64, 74 of the module 22 (seeFIG. 12).

At the front end 156, the adapter plate body 149 defines an upper frontwall 166 and a lower front wall 168. The upper front wall 166 includesan opening 170 for insertion of a swell-latch type of an interlockmechanism 172 (see FIGS. 8-12). The swell-latch 172 is configured tointermate with the openings 146 of the chassis 142 shown in FIG. 8. Theswell-latch 172 is shown in FIGS. 8-12. The basic structure andoperation of these types of latches are generally known to those ofordinary skill in the art and further details thereof will not bediscussed herein.

The adapter plate body 149 defines an upper flange 174 and lower flanges176 that are spaced and configured to slidably fit within the opposingslots 144 of a chassis such as the chassis 142 shown in FIG. 8. With theuse of the adapter plate 90, the upper and lower flanges 174, 176replace the upper and lower flanges 52, 54 of the splitter module 22 asthe main guides that are used to guide the module 22 into a piece oftelecommunications equipment. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the upperflange 174 and the lower flanges 176 of the adapter plate 90 areconfigured and spaced so as to accommodate the upper and lower flanges52, 54 of the module when mounting the module 22 to the plate 90. Theupper front wall 166 of the adapter plate 90 defines a notch 178 forallowing the upper flange 52 of the module 22 to fit beneath the upperfront wall 166.

The top wall 150 of the adapter plate body 149 defines a slot 180adjacent the upper front wall 166. The slot 180 is configured tointermate with the integral latch 58 of the module 22 for interlockingthe module 22 with respect to the adapter plate 90. The slot 180 can beseen in detail in FIGS. 16 and 18. When a module 22 is slidably insertedinto the adapter plate 90, the lower edge 167 of the upper front wall166 of the adapter plate 90 causes the integral latch 58 of the splittermodule 22 to elastically deflect down. The ramped face 108 of the rearlatching tab 104 contacts the lower edge 167 of the upper front wall 166and causes the latch 58 to elastically deflect down. Once the rearlatching tab 104 of the integral latch 58 has cleared the upper frontwall 166, the integral latch 58 of the splitter module 22 deflects backup as the rear latching tab 104 falls into slot 180 to lock the module22 to the adapter plate 90. Once the integral latch 58 is used to lockthe module 22 to the adapter plate 90, it is no longer used for lockingthe module 22 to other telecommunications equipment. In its place, theswell-latch 172 of the adapter plate 90 is used.

The flexible latch 58 also deflects to permit withdrawal of module 22from adapter plate 90 when the module 22 is needed to be removed fromthe plate 90. The removal of module 22 from adapter plate 90 isperformed by pressing latch 58 downwardly to clear the square face 110of rear tab 104 from the slot 180 of the adapter plate 90 and slidingmodule 22 away from adapter plate 90. The fixed grip tab 116 opposingand adjacent to flexible latch 58 aids in removal of module 22 fromadapter plate 90. A user may apply opposing force on latch 58 and fixedgrip tab 116 to securely grasp module 22 and slidably remove it fromadapter plate 90. The fixed grip tab 116 is positioned on module 22close enough to latch 58 so that a user may be able to apply the forcewith two adjacent fingers of the hand.

As noted above, with the adapter plate 90 shown in FIGS. 8-18, if themodule 22 is populated with rear input connectors 86, those connectors86 do not have to be removed prior to insertion into the adapter plate90. As shown in FIGS. 10-11, the adapter plate 90 includes room adjacentthe rear end 154 of the plate body 149 for accommodating the rearconnectors 86 of the module 22. The open front end 156 of the adapterplate body 149 allows all of the front inputs 44 and the outputs 46 toremain unchanged. As discussed above, the terminated output cables canbe routed through frames featuring the chassis 142 and coupled toequipment such as sliding adapter modules for connectivity. In otherembodiments of high-density fiber distribution frames that includechassis similar to chassis 142, the terminated output ends can be leadto parking structures for storage for future connectivity, as describedin further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,827, incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

It should be noted that although the illustrated example of the module22 that is mounted to the adapter plate 90 is a front-input module,since the adapter plate 90 provides room adjacent the rear end 154 ofthe plate body 149, a module that is configured as a rear-input modulewith rear cable terminations can be used with the adapter plate 90 in achassis such as the chassis 142 shown in FIG. 8.

Thus, with the use of an adapter plate 90 as shown in FIGS. 8-18, atelecommunications module such as the module 22 of FIGS. 3-7, which isconfigured for installation in a first type of chassis 18, is able to beinstalled in a second type of chassis 142 without having to modify theexternal and internal features of the module 22.

Although in the foregoing description, terms such as “top”, “bottom”,“front”, “back”, “right”, “left”, “upper”, and “lower were used for easeof description and illustration, no restriction is intended by such useof the terms. The telecommunications devices described herein can beused in any orientation, depending upon the desired application. Forexample, even though the splitter module housing 60 is described asincluding a “top wall” 66 and a “bottom wall 68”, the top and bottomwalls might be oriented in a horizontal plane when mounting the splittermodule into a chassis, as shown in FIG. 8. Such terms are used for easeof description and no restriction is intended by such use of the terms.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the disclosure. Since manyembodiments of the disclosure can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the inventive aspects, the inventive aspects residesin the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adapter plate for use with atelecommunications module that is configured to be slidably insertedinto a first type of telecommunications chassis, the telecommunicationsmodule defining an upper mounting flange that is of a differentconfiguration than a lower mounting flange of the module, the adapterplate comprising: a body configured to be mounted to thetelecommunications module, wherein the body of the adapter plateincludes structure for mounting the telecommunications module to asecond type of telecommunications chassis that is different than thefirst type of telecommunications chassis, wherein the telecommunicationsmodule is not configured to be mounted to the second type oftelecommunications chassis without the use of the adapter plate; whereinthe body of the adapter plate defines an upper vertical mounting flangeand at least one lower vertical mounting flange that is along the samevertical plane as the upper vertical mounting flange, wherein the uppervertical mounting flange is positioned at a different location than thelower vertical mounting flange in a front to back direction definedalong the adapter plate body, such that the upper and the at least onelower vertical mounting flanges provide a keying feature in receivingthe differently configured upper and lower mounting flanges of themodule without otherwise contacting the upper and lower mounting flangesof the module.
 2. An adapter plate according to claim 1, wherein thebody of the adapter plate is removably mounted to the telecommunicationsmodule.
 3. An adapter plate according to claim 1, wherein the adapterplate is slidably mounted to the telecommunications module.
 4. Anadapter plate according to claim 1, wherein the telecommunicationsmodule includes a flexible latch for interlocking with the first type oftelecommunications chassis, wherein the telecommunications module isconfigured to be interlocked with the adapter plate using the flexiblelatch, the adapter plate including a second latch for interlocking withthe second type of telecommunications module.
 5. An adapter plateaccording to claim 4, wherein the flexible latch of thetelecommunications module includes an integral cantilever arm and thesecond latch of the adapter plate includes a swell-latch.
 6. An adapterplate according to claim 1, wherein the adapter plate body defines a topwall, a bottom wall, a rear wall, a first transverse sidewall, and anopen front end, wherein the telecommunications module is configured tobe inserted into the body of the adapter plate through the open frontend.
 7. An adapter plate according to claim 6, further comprising aretainer wall parallel to the first transverse wall, thetelecommunications module to be captured between the retainer wall andthe first transverse wall with a friction fit when the adapter plate ismounted to the telecommunications module.
 8. An adapter plate accordingto claim 1, wherein the upper and the at least one lower verticalmounting flanges of the adapter plate are for slidable insertion intoopposing mounting slots of the second type of telecommunicationschassis, wherein the upper and lower mounting flanges of thetelecommunications module are not configured to fit the mounting slotsof the second type of telecommunications chassis.
 9. An adapter plateaccording to claim 1, wherein the telecommunications module is mountedto the adapter plate and the telecommunications module includes a fiberoptic splitter that splits an input signal into a plurality of the sameoutput signals.
 10. An adapter plate according to claim 1, wherein thetelecommunications module is mounted to the adapter plate and thetelecommunications module includes an optical wavelength divisionmultiplexer/demultiplexer.
 11. An adapter plate for use with atelecommunications module that includes a flexible latch forinterlocking with a first type of telecommunications chassis, thetelecommunications module further defining an upper mounting flange thatis of a different configuration than a lower mounting flange of themodule, the adapter plate comprising: a body configured to be mounted tothe telecommunications module and interlocked with thetelecommunications module using the flexible latch of thetelecommunications module, wherein the body of the adapter plateincludes a second latch for interlocking with a second type oftelecommunications chassis that is different than the first type oftelecommunications chassis, wherein the flexible latch of thetelecommunications module is not configured for interlocking with thesecond type of telecommunications chassis; wherein the body of theadapter plate defines an upper vertical mounting flange and at least onelower vertical mounting flange that is along the same vertical plane asthe upper vertical mounting flange, wherein the upper vertical mountingflange is positioned at a different location than the lower verticalmounting flange in a front to back direction defined along the adapterplate body, such that the upper and the at least one lower verticalmounting flanges provide a keying feature in receiving the differentlyconfigured upper and lower mounting flanges of the module withoutotherwise contacting the upper and lower mounting flanges of the module.12. An adapter plate according to claim 11, wherein the body of theadapter plate is removably mounted to the telecommunications module. 13.An adapter plate according to claim 11, wherein the telecommunicationsmodule is configured to be slidably mounted to the first type oftelecommunications module, wherein the adapter plate is configured to beslidably mounted to the telecommunications module and slidably mountedto the second type of telecommunications chassis.
 14. An adapter plateaccording to claim 13, wherein the upper and the at least one lowervertical mounting flanges of the adapter plate are for slidableinsertion into opposing mounting slots of the second type oftelecommunications chassis, wherein the upper and lower mounting flangesof the telecommunications module are not configured to fit the mountingslots of the second type of telecommunications chassis.
 15. An adapterplate according to claim 11, wherein the flexible latch of thetelecommunications module includes an integral cantilever arm and thesecond latch of the adapter plate includes a swell-latch.
 16. An adapterplate according to claim 11, wherein the adapter plate body defines atop wall, a bottom wall, a rear wall, a first transverse sidewall, andan open front end, wherein the telecommunications module is configuredto be inserted into the body of the adapter plate through the open frontend.
 17. An adapter plate according to claim 16, further comprising aretainer wall parallel to the first transverse wall, thetelecommunications module to be captured between the retainer wall andthe first transverse wall with a friction fit when the adapter plate ismounted to the telecommunications module.
 18. An adapter plate accordingto claim 11, wherein the telecommunications module is mounted to theadapter plate and the telecommunications module includes a fiber opticsplitter that splits an input signal into a plurality of the same outputsignals.
 19. An adapter plate according to claim 11, wherein thetelecommunications module is mounted to the adapter plate and thetelecommunications module includes an optical wavelength divisionmultiplexer/demultiplexer located within the interior.
 20. A method ofmounting a telecommunications module that is configured for mounting toa first telecommunications chassis with a flexible latch and upper andlower mounting flanges that are configured differently for keyingpurposes to a second telecommunications chassis that is different thanthe first telecommunications chassis such that the flexible latch is notconfigured for mounting to the second telecommunications chassis, themethod comprising: removably mounting an adapter plate to thetelecommunications module using the flexible latch of thetelecommunications module, wherein the adapter plate defines an uppervertical mounting flange and at least one lower vertical mounting flangethat is along the same vertical plane as the upper vertical mountingflange, wherein the upper vertical mounting flange is positioned at adifferent location than the lower vertical mounting flange in a front toback direction defined along the adapter plate, such that the upper andthe at least one lower vertical mounting flanges also provide a keyingfeature in receiving the differently configured upper and lower mountingflanges of the module without otherwise contacting the upper and lowermounting flanges of the module; and mounting the adapter plate to thesecond telecommunications chassis with a second latch of the adapterplate.
 21. A method according to claim 20, further comprising slidablymounting the adapter plate to the telecommunications module and slidablymounting the adapter plate to the second type of telecommunicationschassis.
 22. A method according to claim 20, wherein the flexible latchof the telecommunications module includes an integral cantilever arm andthe second latch of the adapter plate includes a swell-latch.
 23. Atelecommunications device comprising: a telecommunications module thatincludes a first interlock structure in the form of a flexible latchthat is configured for mounting to a first type of telecommunicationschassis, the telecommunications module including a fiber optic splitterthat splits an input signal into a plurality of the same output signals,the telecommunications module further defining an upper mounting flangethat is of a different configuration than a lower mounting flange forkeying purposes in mounting to the first type of telecommunicationschassis; and an adapter structure removably mounted to thetelecommunications module using the first interlock structure, whereinthe adapter structure includes a second interlock structure in the formof a swell-latch for mounting to a second type of telecommunicationschassis that is different than the first type of telecommunicationschassis, wherein the telecommunications module cannot be mounted to thesecond type of telecommunications chassis with the first interlockstructure; wherein the adapter structure defines an upper verticalmounting flange and at least one lower vertical mounting flange that isalong the same vertical plane as the upper vertical mounting flange,wherein the upper vertical mounting flange is positioned at a differentlocation than the lower vertical mounting flange in a front to backdirection defined along the adapter structure, such that the upper andthe at least one lower vertical mounting flanges provide a keyingfeature in receiving the differently configured upper and lower mountingflanges of the module without otherwise contacting the upper and lowermounting flanges of the module.